A Katesbridge woman is emerging as one of the hottest property in ice skating.
Emma Lutton has been in sensational form over the past fortnight, tasting success in England and Germany.
Last week she returned home with silver from the British Ice Skating Adult Nationals 2024 in Sheffield.
Even better was to follow at the weekend when the 22-year-old was crowned International champion in Berlin after a stunning routine wowed the judges.
Emma Lutton has been in sensational form over the past fortnight, tasting success in England and Germany.
Last week she returned home with silver from the British Ice Skating Adult Nationals 2024 in Sheffield.
Even better was to follow at the weekend when the 22-year-old was crowned International champion in Berlin after a stunning routine wowed the judges.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Hi, my name is Emma Lutton, I'm 22 and I'm a figure skater from Katesbridge.
00:03 Emma, congratulations, you're just home from Berlin after picking up the young adult silver free skate champion.
00:20 Just tell us about your experience and how that feels. It was brilliant. It was a lot to take in.
00:24 I didn't think it was gonna do as well in the competition over there. It was really tough.
00:29 So I was just sort of like if I could stay on my feet and get a good clean skate, I would be happy.
00:33 And then skated really, really well.
00:36 I've never skated like that in my life.
00:37 And then as soon as it finished, it just started streaming with tears that I had knew and then I heard my score.
00:41 And I just knew that that was it. I had won. So I was over the moon about it.
00:46 I didn't expect it, but it's nice to know that the hard work actually paid off.
00:50 And how does a girl from Katesbridge get into ice skating?
00:54 I used to watch Dancing on Ice religiously every Saturday night.
00:57 And I had always, my favorite was Ray and Maria Filipov.
01:01 And now Maria is my coach, but I always wanted to take it up.
01:04 And my mum and dad took me up once and I was away.
01:07 I've done horse riding as well and running.
01:09 So never really had time for it.
01:11 And then whenever I started driving and doing my course in Lisburn, SERC, I was like, right, well,
01:16 I can take up another sport, learn about it and then do all my assignments on it.
01:20 And I fell in love with it.
01:21 I train between maybe four and five times a week.
01:24 Coming up to a competition, it'll maybe be six days a week.
01:26 It'll be anywhere between six in the morning until eleven o'clock in the afternoon.
01:30 But recently it has been up at five, down there for six.
01:34 And talk to me about the other competitions now that you have coming up in the future.
01:38 So I will have the most recent one to come will be Italy at the end of April.
01:43 And it'll be a big one.
01:46 So it will, because it's sort of like an international one.
01:49 So there will be people from all over Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Germany,
01:54 pretty much the same people I was competing against in Berlin will be going to this one.
01:58 And then some of the UK skaters as well will be coming over.
02:01 So there's, it'll be a lot more people.
02:03 In terms of the support that you've received from friends, from family,
02:07 from right across Northern Ireland and beyond, what has that meant to you?
02:11 I wasn't expecting it.
02:13 It's nearly overwhelming, but it's nice to know that people aren't forgetting about the sport.
02:17 Like people realise there is like a sport in figure skating.
02:20 It's not just something you go and do and you're terrified of it.
02:23 But it has been amazing. And like the messages I've been getting is just,
02:26 it's really nice.
02:29 What advice could you impart to another young woman who would love to get involved
02:33 in ice skating the way you have?
02:35 Age doesn't matter. Everybody can do it.
02:37 Once you get the hang of knowing what to do with your feet, you're off.
02:40 It's sometimes easier than walking. I find it easier than walking. I'm very clumsy.
02:44 So it doesn't matter age. Anybody can do it.
02:46 There's children's competitions and then there's adults competitions.
02:49 So it's not like you've no opportunities to go and compete.
02:53 It is very inclusive and everybody's so welcoming, especially at the adult competitions.
02:58 What's the ultimate goal at the end of this for you, Emma?
03:02 I'd like to go to the British Championships.
03:04 That would be the ultimate goal, but it's a lot of hard work, a lot more things to learn,
03:08 triple jumps.